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Like its predecessor, Wicked: For Good makes a lot of changes to the Broadway musical it's based on. That's not a huge surprise, considering Act Two is just one hour long, and For Good is over twice the length.
If you're wondering just what these changes are, though, then look no further. Below, we've rounded up the nine biggest differences between Wicked: For Good and the Broadway show, so you can get up to speed at a glance. Naturally, that means there will be spoilers ahead, so turn back now if you haven't seen the film yet!
The biggest differences between Wicked: For Good and the Broadway show
The opening
Wicked: For Good begins with a medley of sorts of Part One's songs as we're reintroduced to Oz, including a brief reprise of 'What is this Feeling' and Elphaba's "unlimited" line from 'Defying Gravity' and 'The Wizard and I.' In the stage show, Act Two jumps straight into the 'Thank Goodness' scene, which here comes later.
Glinda's childhood
We get a window into Glinda's childhood when a flashback shows that the youngster couldn't channel any magic of her own, despite being gifted a wand at her birthday party. We see her talent for bending the truth and putting on a show when she pretends to have summoned a rainbow outside with her attempts at a spell, too. We don't get any insight into Glinda's childhood in the show, however.
'No Place Like Home'
The first of two new songs, 'No Place Like Home' sees Elphaba explain to the animals escaping Oz via a tunnel beneath the yellow brick road why she wants to save the land, despite it never loving her. It's a powerful ballad interrupted by the Cowardly Lion, who has a bone to pick with Elphaba. None of this happens in the stage show and the song is a brand new addition. Of course, the title is a call back to Dorothy's famous catchphrase: when she clicks her heels three times and says the magic words, she is transported home to Kansas.
Nessarose
In the musical, Elphaba goes to visit her sister Nessarose and uses the Grimmerie to enchant the silver slippers, which allows Nessarose to walk. In the movie, this is changed to Elphaba making Nessarose fly – and as she does, her silver shoes heat up and turn red, in a nod to the 1939 movie.
This particular change was made to avoid harmful disability representation. "I obviously don't speak for all people with disabilities, and I know that some things like chronic pain exist. My partner deals with that and she has said before, 'I wish I did not have this.' But in general, I think a lot of non-disabled people already have the preconceived idea that all disabled people want to be fixed," Nessarose actor Marissa Bode said at the ReelAbilities Film Festival (via The Hollywood Reporter). "Portraying something like that in something as big as Wicked can have negative effects. The amount of times still that I am pitied because people think I am lesser than for sitting in a wheelchair or that I am not living a happy life because I am in a wheelchair – that I should be fixed or that I need to be prayed over – has been extremely uncomfortable."
'Wonderful'
In For Good, Glinda, the Wizard, and Elphaba all dance through 'Wonderful' together, and Elphaba is tempted back to the Emerald City by a combination of her only friend and the Wizard. In the Broadway musical, this scene plays out just with Elphaba and the Wizard, until Doctor Dillamond arrives and Elphaba realizes he can no longer speak. In the film, Elphaba finds many animals locked in cages, hidden out of sight. One of those is Doctor Dillamond, who has lost the ability to talk.
Glinda's wedding
While Glinda and Fiyero are engaged in the stage show, they don't get far enough to attempt an actual wedding. In For Good, however, they get all the way down the aisle and are about to seal the deal when the animals escape from the Wizard's imprisonment with help from Elphaba. They rampage through the wedding and Fiyero is pulled away to deal with the disturbance, which puts the wedding on pause. Then, Fiyero decides to run away with Elphaba… which means the wedding is called off entirely. Poor Glinda.
'Girl in the Bubble'
The second new song of the movie, 'Girl in the Bubble' sees Glinda wrestle with her charmed but false life as a member of the Wizard's regime. Like 'No Place Like Home,' this song is a brand new number written just for the movie and doesn't appear in the show.
The Grimmerie
At the very end of For Good, the Grimmerie opens for Glinda, meaning she does have her own magic after all. In the show, this doesn't happen, and Glinda never discovers any kind of magical power. But, in Gregory Maguire's books, Glinda does have her own magic, so this change brings the character more in line with her novel counterpart (and of course, in L. Frank Baum's original novel and in the 1939 movie, she is a magical witch in her own right).
The whisper
The iconic poster for the Broadway show features Glinda whispering in Elphaba's ear, with one hand up to shield the good witch's mouth. While a poster for Part One recreated the pose, it never happened in the film itself. However, the end of Part Two features a flashback to Glinda, Elphaba, Nessarose, Fiyero, and Boq in a poppy field, a reference to the poppies that put the Shiz class to sleep in Part One, as well as the poppy field in The Wizard of Oz that lures Dorothy and her friends to sleep. The very last scene of For Good is Glinda leaning over to whisper something in Elphaba's ear, recreating the famous poster. This scene, which we see pieces of throughout Part Two and even a glimpse of in Part One, is not in the Broadway show.
Wicked: For Good is in theaters now. For more, check out our guide to the Wicked Part One ending explained or our guide to all the most exciting movie release dates.
